Day 477-478 Christmas in the Maldives, Days 1 and 2

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
in the cabin of your airplane taking you to the Maldives :)

Every gate in the Hong Kong airport was decorated
for the holidays, too.  I was getting in the spirit, too.

Then I landed in sweltering HOT Male, a land of more
twirlygigs I do not understand.  Thankfully, English is
primarily spoken, albeit with a very thick Indian accent.

The Orchid Hotel was our home for three nights on
the island of Hulhumale. Ziad was a most gracious
innkeeper and host, and such an interesting man to talk to.

This was our first morning at breakfast and we were
DYING, it was so hot and humid.  It was going to take
a day or two to get acclimated as we were about four
degrees north of the equator in the Indian Ocean. Whew!
Ziad prepared us the most wonderful traditional Maldivian
breakfast each morning; it was our favorite on the trip. So
many new and interesting and flavorful things to eat!

After breakfast, we were eager to get our toes
in the sand.  I was cautioned by Ziad that the beaches
in the Maldives are "NO BIKINIS" and that I must
stay covered up....say what????

For this is how Muslim women go to the beach.

Ziad urged us to walk way to the end of the beach where I
might be able to quickly enter the water in my bikini.

With nary a Muslim in sight, I hastily disrobed and jumped
in...where I remained up to my neck in the water.
I seemed to have escaped without incident, until some
construction workers decided to take an extended lunch
break by our blanket.  Len had to get my cover up and
towels and bring them to me in the water so that I could
get out. I was completely covered up and I still felt naked.
It was worse than being around the Amish back home.

Look at this wee little guy who crawled up on my blanket :)
We decided that we needed to take it easy and pace ourselves
in the scorching sun, so we called it an early afternoon
and decided to walk about the little village.

We walked to town, exchanged some money, and did a little
souvenir shopping. Len found this cool prayer blanket
that will hang in the living room of our new home; the
colors are perfect. I simply stumbled upon a herd of cats.

We had a late snack of Indian samosas with delicious
spicy meat and vegetable fillings.  Sadly, Len had no
cold beer to wash it down.  So far, No Bikinis, No Beer
and No Bacon in the Maldives.  I guess we should have
done our homework a little better before we booked.
I didn't care- I was here to dive with the whale sharks!

We walked to the other side of Hulhumale to see where to
pick up the ferry to the other islands.  The capital city is
just a short hop away, so we wanted to check out the ferry
schedule for tomorrow's big adventure.

Those who know me well know that anytime I can get to a harbor
or anchorage and see a mast sticking up, I break out in a grin from
ear to ear :)))  So cool.  I can't wait to get ON the water tomorrow!

As we window shopped and picked our way back across the island,
we came upon the mosque.  It was really interesting, and a bit
comforting to hear them break out in prayers five times a day
over the loud speaker.  So many new sights, tastes, and sounds
in the Maldives.  In spite of no bikinis, no booze, and no
bacon, I have to say, I love this place already!

We stopped and enjoyed an ice cream by the mosque, and
did one of my favorite things- people watched :)

This tiny little old Indian woman was using
this home made device to pick blossoms
off of this tree.  She was sharing them with
Len and explaining they make a delicious tea.
He looked like a giant next to her, lol.

We found our way back to our sleepy little street,
and we really enjoyed ourselves today.  It was so
nice to decompress from the cold and pollution,
to feel the sun on our faces, and to simply mill
about this small island getting a feel for the place.

We got cleaned up for dinner, and had a delicious
meal of foods I have never eaten before.  I loved it all.
Here I am holding the local currency which I also love,
because their money has sailboats on it.
Yep, I'm going to love this place :)

G'nite, y'all!